HOUSTON – If you're taking your children trick-or-treating Halloween night, make sure to know where registered sex offenders live in your neighborhood.
The vast majority of the city's registered sex offenders are not restricted from participating in the holiday, so the Houston Police Department steps up sex offender checks every year in advance of Halloween.
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Only certain convicted sex offenders with specific parole or probation requirements are barred from handing out candy on Halloween.
Police recommend that parents trick or treat with their younger children, and stay in cellphone contact with older children.
Parents can also check the Texas Department of Public Safety's registered sex offender database. The public website allows users to map the locations of registered sex offenders.
READ: Houston-area ZIP codes with the most sex offenders
Users can enter an address to see where any registered sex offenders live in the area, as well as a photo, address and age.
Here's how it works:
- Log on to the DPS website.
- Read the DPS disclosure statement and click the "agree" box if you do.
- Enter your address in the search bar in the upper right-hand side of the map.
Users can then click on the 'pins' of the map to reveal the registered sex offender's identity, photo, date of birth and address. A click on 'mapped' under the search bar displays a list of all of the registered sex offenders.